The Canon ZR20 is a Digital MiniDV camcorder with a 2.5" LCD and a color viewfinder.
Zoom And Image Stabilizer
The camcorder has 10x optical zoom and 200x digital zoom. The image is not shaky at high magnification levels, since the camera is equipped with a digital stabilizer.
Picture
The camcorder records video and still pictures. The still pictures can be recorded on a MiniDV tape and one tape can hold around 700 still pictures. The picture quality (the CCD has 460,000 pixels) in the video mode is very good with low noise level.
Sound
The camcorder has a stereo microphone and a built-in speaker. The microphone input allows you connect an external microphone. You can select between 12- and 16-bit recording.
Features
The camcorder comes with a Li-Ion battery, A/V cable, S-Video cable, power adapter, battery, remote and a shoulder strap. There are several AE modes, including fully automatic "Easy Recording".
But in addition to automatic settings (focus, white balance, etc.), you can manually adjust focus, white balance, shutter speed, exposure (AE Shift). The camcorder allows you apply faders and digital effects and has widescreen mode.
It also features FireWire (i.Link, IEEE1394) jack, so you can connect it to another digital camcorder, MiniDV VCR or a computer for editing or making a copy. The remote control allows you search for still pictures on the tape using Data Code recorded during the shooting.
The camcorder features both composite and an S-Video inputs/outs and LANC editing terminal. The timer allows to perform recordings at predefined time. There is a Low Light recording capability (low shutter speed and high exposure time).
Remote
Unlike entry-level digital camcorders from Panasonic, the wireless remote control is included here.
Bottom Line
The ZR20 is a nice camcorder with good feature set. But the menu system is unnecessary complicated and the Canon camcorders are not among the most reliable (unlike Panasonic ones).